The Fox Spirit Raised by the Villain Wants to Defect - Chapter 58

The Jade Flute propped up Xiao Yu’s back, helped her stand, and then reattached itself to her waist.

As soon as Xiao Yu stood firm, she heard him say, “I’ll let you off this time.”

She blinked, suddenly feeling that Wen Yu’s attitude towards her had changed somewhat.

She had waited outside for several hours, but the Wen Yu who emerged showed her no concern or offered any explanation.

Was it just because she subconsciously regarded Wen Yu as someone she cared about that she wished for his concern?

Xiao Yu looked at him, her emotions clearly visible in her eyes, which Sheng Li perceived.

He frowned, recalling how Wen Yu interacted with Xiao Yu, then impatiently dismissed those memories.

His expression softened, his gaze sought Xiao Yu, and his lowered hand paused before reaching toward her.

He adjusted his own aura, effortlessly adopting Wen Yu’s demeanor.

Xiao Yu felt only that the person before her suddenly exuded a familiar aura, drawing her near.

Hesitantly, she suppressed the strange feeling she’d had just moments ago; her worry took precedence.

“Daoist Priest, you didn’t encounter any danger inside, did you?” she asked, carefully examining his body. Seeing no wounds, she felt relieved.

A hint of displeasure flashed across Sheng Li’s eyes. He didn’t want to hear anything about Wen Yu, especially this concern.

“I am fine.”

He is fine; he will never be injured again.

Sheng Li sneered inwardly, his interest waned, and he spoke no further with Xiao Yu.

“Follow me,” was all he said. He summoned Yan Ziqiong and walked toward the Demon Territory’s exit.

Xiao Yu hurriedly followed him, looking at his retreating figure: his back was still straight, and his hair was tied back with a single ribbon.

The ribbon dispelled the confusion in her heart. She thought of the hair ribbon she had embroidered but hadn’t yet had the chance to give him.

Xiao Yu sent her consciousness into the Jiezi Fu (Dimensional Talisman) for a look. The ribbon and the pouch she had sewn lay stacked together, quietly waiting to be presented.

She bit her lip, wanting to call out to Wen Yu, but found that his walking speed was increasing, and she had to quicken her pace just to keep up. She had no choice but to drop the idea.

She decided to look for a more suitable opportunity later.

Reaching the shore, Sheng Li turned around and saw Xiao Yu walking with her head down, lost in thought. She didn’t realize he had stopped and kept walking until she bumped right into him.

Sheng Li stood firm. Xiao Yu’s collision hurt a little.

“Why did you stop suddenly?”

She rubbed her face, then heard Wen Yu speak.

Sheng Li raised an eyebrow and said, amused, “You walk without looking, and now you blame me?”

Xiao Yu quickly dropped her hand and looked up at him.

“Daoist Priest, your tone is strange.” She stared at him: “Did you encounter something unhappy inside?”

Xiao Yu had wanted to say this for a long time: “You seem a little unhappy the moment you came out.”

Sheng Li clenched his back molars and looked at Xiao Yu for a moment.

His gaze made Xiao Yu feel tingly all over. She then heard him say, “I saw some unpleasant scenes inside.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes widened gradually. She asked, “What were they?”

Sheng Li suddenly let out a laugh. He deliberately imitated Wen Yu’s gentle smile—it was almost identical, yet mixed with a trace of his own emotion.

This was not a pure smile.

He leaned down. His hair fell forward, brushing Xiao Yu’s cheek.

Xiao Yu, on an impulse, reached out, wanting to brush that strand of hair aside to fully reveal his blocked face.

But Sheng Li grabbed her wrist.

“You wouldn’t want to know.”

He released her hand, straightened up, and changed the subject: “Change back into your original form.”

Xiao Yu let out a surprised sound. He changed the topic too quickly; she didn’t understand why she needed to transform.

Then she saw Wen Yu point. Following the direction of his finger, she saw Yan Ziqiong transform into his original form and leap into the sea.

“Weren’t you choked on the way here?”

Only then did Xiao Yu understand.

She glanced at Wen Yu and transformed into her original form as instructed. As soon as her paws touched the ground, she was picked up and tucked into his arms.

His palm stroked around her head and then touched her tail.

Xiao Yu immediately tensed up, rigid and motionless.

A laugh came from above her head. The sound of the laughter caused Xiao Yu’s ears to twitch involuntarily. She looked up at the person holding her.

Sheng Li lowered his head and met her pair of demonic eyes.

The brown-red, amber demonic eyes stared at him unblinkingly. For a moment, Sheng Li thought the little fox in his arms regarded him as her everything.

But he knew clearly that the person she was looking at was not him.

He felt a fluffy sensation on his wrist; the heat emanating from it soaked into his skin.

Sheng Li turned his head to look. The fluffy fox tail was wrapped around his wrist, gradually tightening.

He smiled again.

He smiled purely at Xiao Yu’s action of wrapping her tail around his wrist.

He opened his palm to cover the tip of the tail, then tightened his grip.

Xiao Yu immediately buried herself in his arms, trying to pull her tail out.

Damn bodily instinct! Why won’t it listen to her? It actually wrapped itself around him.

The tail couldn’t be pulled out; instead, it was kneaded by Sheng Li.

Xiao Yu, the entire fox, went limp, completely strengthless, and could only cling to him.

She lifted her head from his embrace, her eyelids half-open, and her demonic eyes filled with grievance.

Stop pinching!

“Jiji!” (Squeak!)

Sheng Li didn’t understand the sound, but he could sense Xiao Yu’s meaning.

He released his hand, sparing her this time. Staring at her, his palm suddenly covered her eyes.

The little fox’s eyelashes fluttered repeatedly, tickling his palm.

Sheng Li looked at Xiao Yu, whose eyes were covered by his hand, and restrained all his laughter.

“Little Fox, the person you see in your eyes is me.”

He kept this sentence buried in his heart and did not speak it aloud.

He had been suppressed by this body for a century. If not for his persistence, the so-called Sword Venerable Wen Yu would have died long ago.

After a century of dormancy, it was time for him to return and deal with those ‘rats.’

“Let’s go back.” He removed his hand and leaped into the seawater under Xiao Yu’s gaze.

As the exit of the Demon Territory opened, Sheng Li perceived a subtle change the moment he approached.

“That old thing has a small heart, setting traps for me here.” Sheng Li looked down at Xiao Yu. The Jade Flute, which had become a neck chain on her, scattered into fragments, forming a protective barrier around them.

Only then did Sheng Li carry Xiao Yu through the exit.

In that instant, countless water columns spun rapidly, surging toward the pair from all directions of the exit. The agitated waves were violent, capable of grinding any creature caught within them to shreds.

The formation blocked the water columns, creating a safe passage, and Sheng Li’s figure disappeared.

The formation shattered, and the fragments followed Sheng Li, vanishing into the seawater.

The moment they surfaced, Xiao Yu shook the water from her head and saw a completely soaked Wen Yu. She suddenly poked his chest with her paw.

It was hard; she couldn’t press it down.

Just as she was about to pull her paw away, it was firmly held in place.

“What are you doing?” Sheng Li floated on the water with her, diverting his consciousness to search for Nan Chenghui’s traces: “Are your paws very fond of moving?”

Her fox ears twitched. Sheng Li glanced at them, then his sight fell on Xiao Yu’s closed eyes.

She had started playing dead.

Damn it!

Beauty leads to mistakes! Why can’t she control herself!

Sheng Li stopped teasing her, released his hand, and carried her ashore.

Yan Ziqiong waited until he dried himself before speaking: “Master, what do you need me to do next?”

Xiao Yu jumped down, returned to her human form, and stood a little distance away.

With her back to the two of them, she looked down at the fragments on her waist and touched them.

She touched them again and again, as if addicted.

Sheng Li, whose back was to her, suddenly shivered, his brow furrowed. Finally unable to bear it, he called out, “Xiao Yu.”

Xiao Yu released her hand and responded, “Ah?”

She turned to look at him, seeing his expression of helplessness and forbearance, and was perplexed.

“Come here.”

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment before walking over.

Why did he call her over?

She walked within about three steps of him, only to be pulled and made to stand right beside him. He kept holding her hand and didn’t let go again.

Sheng Li continued speaking to Yan Ziqiong: “You return to the main territory first. I will deal with a few things and then meet up with you there.”

Yan Ziqiong nodded, glanced at their tightly clasped hands, and the inner wolf in his heart let out a howl.

There is indeed something going on between the two of them!

“Where are you looking?”

Hearing a chilly remark, Yan Ziqiong quickly retracted his gaze and indicated that he was leaving now.

“I’ll go gather information for you. Don’t worry about me.” Yan Ziqiong said as he walked, finally seeing Xiao Yu’s confused expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

He stopped looking and transformed into his original form, running off.

“He just left?”

Sheng Li snorted. If he didn’t leave, would he stay here and be an eyesore?

“Then what about us?” Xiao Yu looked up at Wen Yu and received his answer.

“Go and bring Nan Chenghui back.”

As soon as Sheng Li finished speaking, he quickly located Nan Chenghui, taking Xiao Yu with him.

He was currently standing a few hundred meters outside the Xuanqiu Sect gate, exuding overwhelming demonic energy, staring straight at the Xuanqiu Sect without moving.

Xiao Yu noticed that he was covered in dust, his hair was matted, and he looked like he hadn’t cleaned up for many days.

When he saw people approaching, he was first wary, but only lowered his guard after realizing it was them.

His bloodshot eyes looked over at them. He stood still, his face twitching, his demonic energy churning.

Sheng Li frowned but made no move.

“Master, you only just arrived.”

Xiao Yu felt that this sentence was not quite right.

It sounded like he was blaming them for being late.

And Nan Chenghui’s body was covered in demonic energy right outside the Xuanqiu Sect—it was so obvious, didn’t the Xuanqiu Sect notice?

“Didn’t Master receive the distress message I sent you?”

Nan Chenghui spoke again. His face looked calm, but the increasingly chaotic demonic energy around him revealed his true state.

“He’s not right,” Xiao Yu whispered, her hand pressing against the fragments at her waist.

Sheng Li caught sight of her action from the corner of his eye and his fingers moved slightly.

“What do you want to say?”

He had limited patience, but Nan Chenghui’s identity was important, otherwise he wouldn’t have made a special trip back.

Nan Chenghui only stared at Sheng Li. He seemed trapped in some kind of emotion, unable to break free.

“Master received my message, so why did you stand by and watch the Yuehui Sect be exterminated without offering assistance?”

Xiao Yu gasped, utterly bewildered.

In the original book, these were the words spoken by Duanmu Ying. Why was Nan Chenghui now questioning Wen Yu?

Given his personality, how could he possibly say such things to Wen Yu?

Looking at the demonic energy around him, was his temperament changing because his mind was being corrupted by the demonic energy?

Sheng Li spoke as if he’d heard a joke: “By what right do you say this to me?”

“Why should I save the Yuehui Sect? Did you forget that day Qiu Hong wanted your life? Did you forget they spoke of killing you, this demon?” He spoke like an outsider who had the memory of that day but hadn’t personally experienced it, making him unable to empathize.

But he and the fragment were one. What difference was there between humiliating the fragment and slapping his own face?

“The reason you ask me to save the Yuehui Sect is because you didn’t have the courage to go yourself.”

Sheng Li mocked him mercilessly.

Xiao Yu was stunned into silence by this.

However, she stood on Wen Yu’s side and felt that Nan Chenghui’s words were very hurtful.

“He didn’t go, but I went with Yan Ziqiong,” Xiao Yu didn’t want Nan Chenghui to quarrel with Wen Yu over this: “By the time we arrived, the sect had already been breached. Your message was late.”

Even if they had rushed to the Yuehui Sect immediately upon receiving Nan Chenghui’s message, without wasting time on the Pig-headed demon beast, they still couldn’t have made it in time.

Those demon beasts had clearly planned everything: a rapid breach followed by a quick retreat.

Since they couldn’t foresee the future, how could they have predicted that the demon beasts would launch a sudden attack?

“One sentence: come with me.” After Sheng Li said this, he was ready to directly seize Nan Chenghui.

Nan Chenghui shook his head, his face full of grief: “I can’t leave. She needs me. All her relatives are gone, and she has to seek survival in a strange sect.”

Sheng Li had lost patience: “What do you have to do with her? Someone else will take care of her; she doesn’t need you.”

“That’s not true.” The demonic energy around Nan Chenghui surged again: “Master, I like her, I—”

Sheng Li sneered, stabbing him without mercy: “You like her? Liking her with your demonic identity? Look at yourself now. If you walked up to her, she wouldn’t even recognize you.”

A water mirror reflected Nan Chenghui’s current appearance.

He stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the water mirror, shaking his head in horror.

As Xiao Yu watched Wen Yu speak, that strange feeling welled up in her heart again.

They were clearly the same person, so why did he always give her the feeling that he was sometimes normal and sometimes disjointed?

This feeling was very familiar; she seemed to have experienced it before.

While lost in thought, she heard Nan Chenghui’s voice rise.

He shattered the water mirror and yelled at Sheng Li: “Master, you are angry that Qiu Hong was disrespectful to you, but he is dead now. Misfortune should not affect others. Duanmu has no enmity with you. I am going to help her, so why stop me!”

The more Xiao Yu listened, the more she felt Nan Chenghui was trending toward being love-struck.

When she interacted with him a few days ago, he was clearly not the type of person to say such things to Wen Yu.

“Is the demonic energy affecting his mind?” Xiao Yu poked Wen Yu’s arm and asked him.

Sheng Li pulled his arm back, not allowing Xiao Yu to poke him.

“Yes,” he replied. He didn’t care if Nan Chenghui’s mind was affected; he only needed to take Nan Chenghui away.

Those old devils causing such a commotion in the human world were very likely looking for the thing he had taken away back then.

Nan Chenghui could not fall into their hands.

“If you don’t come with me, I can only resort to force.” As soon as Sheng Li finished this sentence, Nan Chenghui took off running.

He ran several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Yu was dumbfounded.

“Wait here.”

Sheng Li coldly snorted. His wings have hardened, and he won’t even listen to his words.

He immediately pursued him, vanishing from Xiao Yu’s sight in an instant.

Xiao Yu blinked, feeling that everything that happened was too dramatic.

The plot involving Nan Chenghui and Duanmu Ying in the book had been swapped, becoming Nan Chenghui questioning Wen Yu.

She turned to look toward the Xuanqiu Sect but found nothing.

Now that two sects had been destroyed, the human race was panicking. If the Demon Clan were to attack the remaining sects, Wen Yu would surely be criticized for not intervening.

She sighed. Just as she was about to sit down and rest, Coal Ball (Meiqiu) ran out.

“I almost forgot about you,” Xiao Yu poked Coal Ball, noting that his size had recovered to be similar to before.

Coal Ball let out a cry, looked around, and sighed in relief, not seeing Sheng Li’s shadow.

“You…” He hesitated whether to tell Xiao Yu about the aura he detected on Sheng Li, but thinking of his terrifying methods, he immediately stopped himself, deciding not to speak.

“What about me?”

Coal Ball concealed his guilty conscience, chuckled: “Nothing, I mean, my brother brought me a message saying you don’t have to kill Wen Yu anymore.”

Xiao Yu looked at him suspiciously: “When did your brother say that?”

She had only seen him for a brief moment that night. Xiao Yu wasn’t even sure what the Demon looked like.

“I said that when I went back to see my brother before, you weren’t around.”

Coal Ball squatted on Xiao Yu’s shoulder, squinting his eyes happily. He suddenly said, “That demon just now was very powerful. Wen Yu might not be able to defeat him alone.”

“Were you eavesdropping just now?” Xiao Yu poked Coal Ball’s body, and he immediately ran off.

“You didn’t avoid me either,” he floated here and there.

Xiao Yu looked at her waist. The fragments were still there. If Wen Yu didn’t have the Sword Flute, what was he using as a weapon?

Without the Sword Flute, Sheng Li was fighting Nan Chenghui. He avoided his demonic energy, grabbed the incoming fist, and brutally squeezed it.

The sound of shattering knuckles rang out. Nan Chenghui’s face twisted in pain, but he remained silent.

Sheng Li flung his hand, throwing Nan Chenghui out. He crashed into the mountainside, rocks fell, and Nan Chenghui collapsed on the ground.

“Do you want to continue fighting?” Sheng Li walked up to Nan Chenghui and looked down at him.

Nan Chenghui’s demonic energy was sealed by Sheng Li. Unable to use his powers, he couldn’t resist Sheng Li.

“Master, why are you so heartless…”

Nan Chenghui looked up at Sheng Li: “I thought you would help her.”

Sheng Li tied Nan Chenghui up: “Since you gained sentience, our apprenticeship has only lasted ten years. Do you think you understand everything about me?”

Nan Chenghui’s mind suddenly trembled. He lowered his head, hiding his emotions.

Sheng Li didn’t care what he was thinking. He took Nan Chenghui and returned.

The moment he saw him return, Coal Ball immediately hid.

“You’ve dealt with it?” Xiao Yu looked at the tied-up Nan Chenghui, surprised that Wen Yu was so direct.

“Yes,” Sheng Li replied, staring at Xiao Yu. He suddenly asked, “How is your cultivation progressing?”

Xiao Yu laughed awkwardly, embarrassed to talk about her cultivation level.

“Hmm…” Sheng Li looked at her, then suddenly thought of something another person had done, and had an idea.

“Want to go back and see your old home?”

Xiao Yu’s eyes instantly widened. She grabbed Wen Yu’s hand and excitedly asked him, “Can I go back?”

The emotions on her face—a mix of anticipation and sadness—caused Sheng Li to frown.

Does she want to return to the Demon Territory that badly?

The thought flashed through his mind, but Sheng Li quickly denied it.

She didn’t want to return to the Demon Territory; she wanted to return to her own home.

Sheng Li suddenly felt annoyed, and his mood immediately soured.

“Qiongyue Realm, the Pure Fox Clan’s Demon Territory,” he stated the location. As expected, he saw Xiao Yu’s look of disappointment.

“Oh, going to the Demon Territory.” She had overthought things; how could she possibly return home?

She released his hand, only to have Sheng Li grip it again the next second.

“What, you don’t want to go?”

Sheng Li pulled her closer to him, his eyes intently probing the thoughts hidden beneath her surface.

Being stared at like this made Xiao Yu’s heart skip a beat. She quickly adjusted her mood.

“Of course, I’ll go. It’s my old home; I’ll go back and take a look.” She thought of Yan Qing (豔青), who was also from the Pure Fox Clan. Maybe she would run into her there.

Sheng Li sensed the lack of anticipation in her words. He withdrew his gaze, pulling Nan Chenghui to follow him.

The Qiongyue Realm was almost entirely populated by the Pure Fox Clan. This clan had followed the former Demon King into battle, earned merit, and been granted this Demon Territory.

Speaking of which, they had some connection to the Demon Race.

Xiao Yu watched Wen Yu enter very skillfully and couldn’t help but ask, “You seem very familiar with this place?”

When he entered the Sand Demon Territory before, he needed her help.

Sheng Li raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer.

Before entering, he had asked Xiao Yu to pluck a few strands of hair for him.

“There’s an enemy of mine inside.”

When Xiao Yu saw wanted posters of Wen Yu posted almost every short distance, she really wanted to ask him what exactly he had done.

Sheng Li glanced over the portraits, thinking that Pure Fox Qin was truly narrow-minded to still hold a grudge.

“This…” Xiao Yu found it hard to imagine what kind of enormous feud would lead to such an action.

“First, we’ll go see a demon.”

Sheng Li changed direction and went to a certain location.

Nan Chenghui, confined by invisible chains, could only follow them.

In a spacious courtyard, Xiao Yu waited for a while and saw a red figure appear.

When she saw it was Yan Qing, she immediately looked toward Wen Yu.

“She—”

She had been tricked by Yan Qing that night. She hadn’t expected to run into her here, and that Wen Yu had even summoned her.

What is going on?

“Long time no see, little fox.” Yan Qing flashed in front of Xiao Yu. Habitually, she reached out to touch Xiao Yu’s cheek, but was stopped by Sheng Li’s gaze.

She withdrew her hand, resuming a serious look.

“She is in your care,” Sheng Li commanded Yan Qing without courtesy: “Teach her to cultivate.”

Xiao Yu shuffled to a spot where neither of them could reach her, feeling as if she had been sold off.

Just as she took her position, she saw Yan Qing walking toward her, poised to pull her away.

Sheng Li uttered a single sentence: “No touching.”

Simultaneously, the fragments at Xiao Yu’s waist gathered into the Sword Flute, pointing at Yan Qing.

Yan Qing had no choice but to step back, her expression changing several times before finally settling into a smile: “Why are you so tense, Immortal Master? I won’t eat her.”

Xiao Yu truly felt that Yan Qing might actually eat her.

“Continue with the task I discussed with you.” Sheng Li and Nan Chenghui strode out of the courtyard. When passing Xiao Yu, his steps did not halt.

Seeing him leave, Xiao Yu quickly chased after him: “Where are you going?”

Only then did Sheng Li stop and turn to look at her.

The nervousness and worry she showed greatly dissipated his earlier gloom.

“I am going to take care of some things.” He paused, then Sheng Li added, “Just a few days. I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you abandoning me?” This was the first thought that popped into Xiao Yu’s mind.

Since transmigrating, she had rarely been separated from Wen Yu. Suddenly, the only person she could trust was leaving, and she felt uneasy.

“Do you miss me?” Sheng Li said half-jokingly, but seeing Xiao Yu’s serious expression, he dropped the pretense.

“I just feel it’s too sudden.”

Everything that had happened recently was too sudden; she was completely unprepared.

Sheng Li wanted to say something, but ultimately, he just pointed to the fragments on her waist.

“It will protect you.” Seeing Xiao Yu’s conflicted look, he said no more, turned, and left.

It wasn’t until the figures of him and Nan Chenghui could no longer be seen that Xiao Yu retracted her gaze.

Yan Qing walked over, took her hand, and led her out.

“I’ll take you to see my place,” she said, beginning to plot.

“Ah? Can I go?” Xiao Yu was surprised. Her relationship with Yan Qing didn’t seem close enough for that.

“What does it matter? Maybe you’ll see an old acquaintance.”

As she said this, Xiao Yu felt increasingly uneasy.